Wind Turbines

Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many
planning applications for wind turbines have been (a) accepted and (b)
rejected since 1984 ; and how many wind turbines are currently in operation
in Scotland.

Mr. Stewart : The information is not held centrally and could be
provided only at disproportionate cost.

Staff

Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will
publish the total number of staff employed by his office and the total
amount of public spending administered by his office for the latest date
available ; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Lang : Details of staff employed and public expenditure
administered by my Departments are contained in my 1993 departmental
report, "Serving Scotland's Needs" Cm 2214, a copy of which is available in
the Library. My departmental report for 1994 will be published shortly.

Mr. Llwyd : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will
publish the number of staff employed and public spending administered by
his office on each of three functions which would currently not be
administered by the Secretary of State for Wales within Wales for the
latest convenient date available ; what is the total of each of these
figures ; and what proportion these figures are of the total staff employed
and total public spending administered by the Scottish Office.

Column 951

Mr. Lang : This information is not held centrally by my Department
and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Overseas Visits

Mr. Vaz : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many visits
abroad the Solicitor-General for Scotland made during 1993 ; and what was
(a) the cost to public funds and (b) the purpose of each visit.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The Solicitor-General for Scotland
made two visits abroad during 1993. The first was to Cyprus for the Xth
Commonwealth law conference from 3 to 8 May and the second was to
Switzerland on 22 June for an informal meeting of the European Ministers of
Justice. The cost to public funds was £1,936.15 for the Xth
Commonwealth law conference and £739.00 for the informal meeting of
European Ministers of Justice.

Rents

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will
list for each Scottish local authority (a) the current average weekly rent
and (b) the rent change in monetary and percentage terms for each of the
last 10 years.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is set out
in the tables.

Cornton Vale Prison

Mrs. Fyfe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he
has to close Cornton Vale prison.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : There are no plans to close Cornton
Vale prison.

Assisted Places

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much
the Scottish Office has spent on the operation of the assisted places
scheme in each year since 1981 ; how many pupils have been covered by the
scheme in each year since 1981 ; and what overspend occurred on the budget
allocated in each of these years.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information for school years 1981-
82 to 1992-93 is as follows :

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what level
of fees was charged by each institution covered by the assisted places
scheme in Scotland in the current academic year.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Fees charged to the assisted places
scheme by each school vary according to the income levels of individual
parents whose children benefit under the scheme.

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what
safeguards are available to the Scottish Office to ensure that schools
covered by the assisted places scheme meet recognised educational
standards.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : Before a school can participate in the
assisted places scheme in Scotland it requires to satisfy certain criteria,
including certain standards of achievement, breadth of curriculum and
teachers' qualifications. The schools are also subject to inspection by Her
Majesty's inspectors of schools.

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will
list the schools in Scotland which had pupils under the assisted places
scheme for each academic year since 1989 ; how many pupils have been
supported at each institution in each year ; and how much it has cost the
Scottish Office to provide this support in each year.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is set out
in the table.

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the
annual cost to the Scottish Office of publicising and administering the
operation of the assisted places scheme.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The estimated cost to the Scottish
Office of administering the assisted places scheme in 1993-94 financial
year is £44,000. This total includes the cost of producing the "Brief
Guide for Parents" advice booklet for 1993-94 school session of £655.

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what
assessment the Scottish Office has made of the assisted places scheme.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The aim of the assisted places scheme
is to widen the range of educational opportunity for children by allowing
them to attend independent schools which would normally be beyond the reach
of their parents' financial circumstances. The Scottish Office carries out
regular audit and monitoring procedures to ensure that the scheme meets the
criteria set for it.

In November 1992, published results from an independent survey commissioned
jointly by the Scottish Office Education Department and the Scottish
Council of Independent Schools confirmed that the main policy objectives of
the scheme were being achieved.

Secondary Schools

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the
average yearly cost of educating a pupil in each of the secondary schools
in the Ayr division of Strathclyde regional council.

Column 958

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton : The information requested is set out
in the table :

Strathclyde Region |Running cost
Air Division |per pupil
|(£)
---------------------------------------------------------------
Ardrossan Academy |2,307
Arran High School |3,160
Auchenharvie Academy |2,974
Auchinleck Academy |2,562
Ayr Academy |2,986
Belmont Academy |2,225
Carrick Academy |2,887
Cumnock Academy |2,593
Doon Academy |3,628
Garnock Academy |2,409
Girvan Academy |2,409
Grange Academy |2,561
Greenwood Academy |2,356
Irvine Royal Academy |<1>
James Hamilton Academy |3,247
Kilmarnock Academy |2,236
Kilwinning Academy |2,387
Kyle Academy |2,430
Largs Academy |2,430
Loudoun Academy |2,388
Mainholm Academy |3,531
Marr College |2,263
Prestick Academy |2,469
Queen Margaret Academy |2,905
St. Andrew's Academy |2,801
St. Conval's High School |4,240
St. Joseph's Academy |2,848
St. Michael's Academy |2,512
Stewarton Academy |2,430
<1>No entry.
Notes
The figures given are derived by dividing the total budgeted
running cost by the school roll, where the school roll is the
number of pupils on the roll
at the time of the annual school census in September 1992,
including pupils of any special unit, and the total budgeted
school running costs are as specified by the School Board
regulations in respect of the period 1 April 1993 to 31 March
1994.
No entry is given for Irvine Royal Academy because of special
circumstances following a local rationalisation.

Shipping (Tariff Rebates)

Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) if he
will list for each year from 1986-87 the amount paid under the tariff
rebate subsidy scheme to each shipping company operating within the scheme
;

(2) if he will list for each year from 1986-87 the shipping operators who
did not reach the capping level for subventions under the tariff rebate
subsidy scheme and the amount of shortfall in each case ;

(3) if he will list for each year from 1986-87 the shipping operators who
reached a capping level for subvention payments under the tariff rebate
subsidy scheme.

Mr. Wallace : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in
any year since 1986-87, any shortfall in the

Column 960

amount of payments to a shipping operator
under the tariff rebate subsidy scheme has been reallocated to another
participating operator.

Mr. Lang : Yes.

Prison Cells

Mr. Byers : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will
give for each prison in Scotland the total number of cells, the number of
cells without sanitation and the number of prisoners presently held.

Lord James Douglas-Hamilton [holding answer15 February 1994]
: Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to
the Scottish Prison Service under its chief executive, Mr. E. W. Frizzell.
I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from E. W.
Frizzell to Mr. Stephen Byers, dated15 February 1994 :

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your Question about
prisoner accommodation and prisoner numbers.

The latest available information--reflecting the position as at Friday 4
February--is set out in the table below :

Public Bodies

Dr. Wright : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will
publish a table showing, in 1992-93 prices, the gross public spending each
year from 1990-91 and the

Column 960

projected expenditure for each year of the
national health service bodies (Scotland) as listed in "Public Bodies
1993."

Mr. Stewart [holding answer 15 February 1994] : The
information is set out in the table. The figures have been adjusted to 1992
-93 prices using the GDP deflator and have been taken from NHS (Scotland)
summarised accounts.

Equipment Thefts

Mr. Menzies Campbell : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if
he will publish a list of the equipment stolen from his Department in the
last three years for which information is available ; and what was the
approximate value of each item.

Mr. Lang [holding answer 16 February 1994] : A variety of
minor items are periodically reported missing. The following more
substantial items have been formally recorded since 1990 as losses to the
Scottish Office which are attributable to theft.

NHS Trusts

Dr. Strang : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many
hospital trusts have been approved in the Lothian health board area ; and
if he will list all the individuals he has appointed to these trusts with
any relevant details of their experience available to him.

Mr. Stewart [holding answer 14 February 1994] : I refer the
hon. Member to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Greenock and
Port Glasgow (Dr. Godman) on 7 February 1994, Official Report, column 53.
All those appointed have skills or experience relevant to the strategic
management of major service providing bodies.

Nurses

Mr. Blunkett : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was
the total number of (a) whole-time equivalent registered nurses, (b) whole-
time equivalent unregistered nurses and (c) whole-time equivalent nurses in
training in Scotland for each year from 1988 onwards.

Mr. Stewart [holding answer 14 February 1994] : The
information is set out in the table.

Limb Defects

Mr. Donohoe : To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what
consideration was given during the recent investigaton of the incidence of
limb defects within the Ayrshire and Arran health board area undertaken by
the health board, to the incidence of brain tumours occurring within the
Ayrshire and Arran, and Dumfries and Galloway health board areas.

Mr. Stewart [holding answer 14 February 1994] : The
investigation took account of a 1992 review of brain tumours in the health
board area during the period 1975-90 and concluded that there was no
evidence of a common factor linking cases of brain tumour with cases of
upper limb reduction defect. Both studies related exclusively to the
Ayrshire and Arran health board area.

Column 962

EMPLOYMENT

Foreign Nationals

Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what
plans he has to improve the working conditions of foreign nationals brought
into the country as personal servants on restricted entry conditions.

Mr. Michael Forsyth : In general, conditions of work are a matter
for negotiation and agreement between employers and their employees,
without Government intervention. This applies whatever the nationalities of
the parties. Domestic workers from overseas have the same employment
protection rights as resident United Kingdom employees. The criteria under
which these workers are admitted to the United Kingdom are a matter for my
right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for the Home
Department, but I understand that overseas domestic

Column 963

workers receive a leaflet explaining their
rights in the United Kingdom and where to get help before they enter the
country.

Hampshire TEC

Mr. Denham : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what was
the total budget of Hampshire training and enterprise council for the year
1993-94.

Miss Widdecombe : The total sum of money available to the Hampshire
training and enterprise council, for the performance of its contract with
the Secretary of State in the year 1993-94, is £39,197,414.

Restart

Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how
many restart interviews have so far been conducted ; what numbers were
referred to each menu option ; what numbers actually took up their referral
; what numbers were referred to the unemployment benefit service for non-
attendance at an interview ; what numbers were referred to the unemployment
benefit service for

non-availability ; what numbers were referred to the unemployment benefit
service for the refusal of suitable employment ; and if he will express the
numbers also as a percentage.

Mr. Michael Forsyth : Responsibility for the subject of the question
has been delegated to the Employment Service Agency under its chief
executive. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question about how
many Restart interviews have so far been conducted ; what numbers were
referred to each menu option and how many took up their referral ; how many
were sanctioned for non-attendance at interview, non-availability and
refusal of suitable employment ; and if the numbers can also be expressed
as a percentage.

Unfortunately the information you request is not available in the level of
detail you require. The reason for this is that following a review of data
collected by the Employment Service (ES) we decided that the amounts of
information collected about the Restart programme could be reduced,
lessening the burden throughout the organisation and producing savings in
administration costs. Consequently we do not now collect information on the
numbers of referrals made to each menu option. Also, information about the
number of Restart clients who actually took up their referral is not
available separately for each menu option, but is shown "as total starts on
Employment Department (ED) programmes".

The information we have available for the current year is shown in the
attached table.

These figures reflect only the direct results of Restart. We do not know
how many people subsequently take up a job or a place on an employment or
training programme as a result of the guidance given to them at their
interview.

Sign-offs, as a direct result of Client Adviser action, include : entering
full-time education, starting training (not an ED programme), Youth
Training, as a result of benefit disallowed, for pension purposes (no need
to sign for NI credits), or those covered by home responsibilities
protection (no need to sign for NI credits). They do not include sign-offs
for : found work cases, for fraud intervention, failed to sign, clients
transferring their claim to another office, or any other reasons not listed
above.

Workshop, Training for Work, Learning for
Work, Community Action, Work Trials, Business Start-Up Scheme and Job
Interview Guarantee. Similarly, we do not now collect information about the
numbers of people invited to Restart interviews who were subsequently
referred to adjudication authorities because of a doubt raised at their
interview about their entitlement to benefit. Consequently I am unable to
provide the number you requested in the final part of your question or to
indicate the percentage of claims this represents. However, information
about the total number of adjudication officers' decisions irrespective of
source of referral is collected on a regional basis and is summarised
quarterly. A copy of each summary entitled "Analysis of Adjudication
Officers' Decisions" is placed in the Library of the House.

I hope this is helpful.

1993-94 Operational Year: (to end of December 1993 rounded to 100s)
Number of Restart |2,400,000
Interviews
Outcomes |Outcomes as
|percentage of
|Interviews
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Started work |27,800 |1.1
Took up other benefit |45,000 |1.9
Signed off as a direct result of
Client Adviser action |55,700 |2.3
Starts on Employment Department
Programmes |526,500 |21.9

ENVIRONMENT

Biodiversity Action Plan

Mr. Dafis : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what
is his definition of the satisfactory progress referred to in paragraph
8(2) of the United Kingdom biodiversity action plan.

Mr. Atkins : Satisfactory progress will have been made when we judge
there to be reasonable safeguards in support of our concerns that donor
countries should retain the right to determine their financial
contribitions under the biodiversity convention.

Government Car Service

Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is
the policy of his Department regarding motor vehicles belonging to the
Government car service being left with their engines running when parked ;
and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Baldry : GCS drivers are instructed to keep the running of their
vehicles' engines while parked to a minimum consistent with passenger and
security requirements.

Mr. Austin Mitchell : To ask the Secretary of State for the
Environment what is his policy on giving preference to British-made cars in
purchasing official and ministerial cars.

Mr. Baldry : The Department's official and ministerial vehicles are
purchased through call-off contract arrangements which comply with EC and
GATT requirements. The current vehicles are sourced from three United
Kingdom-based car manufacturers. The procurement policy is kept under
review.

Mr. Bermingham : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment
what are the rules and regulations relating to the use of Government cars.

Column 965

Mr. Baldry : I would refer the hon. Member to the answer given by
my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health, the
Member for Bolton, West (Mr. Sackville) on 28 January, Official Report,
column 415, to the hon. Member for Sheffield, Brightside (Mr. Blunkett).

Condensing Boiler Grant

Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he
will make a statement on the future of the Energy Saving Trust's condensing
boiler grant scheme following the Director General of Ofgas's decision on
the E-factor.

Mr. Atkins : The future of the condensing boiler grant scheme is a
matter for the Energy Saving Trust Ltd. and British Gas plc, and its
continued funding through theE-factor is a matter for the Director General
of Gas Supply.

Climate Change Convention

Mr. Llew Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment
what papers or proposals were submitted by the United Kingdom delegation to
the intergovernmental negotiating committee for a framework convention on
climate change at its meeting in Geneva that began on7 February.

Mr. Atkins : The United Kingdom submitted the climate change
programme as its report under article 12 of the framework convention on
climate change, making it the first country to do so.

Ultraviolet Radiation

Mr. Chris Smith : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment
whether he will issue daily bulletins on levels of ultraviolet radiation
from National Radiological Protection Board monitoring stations in the
United Kingdom, and issue guidance to the public if levels become enhanced
due to thinning of the ozone layer.

Mr. Atkins : The National Radiological Protection Board restarted
its weekly bulletins on levels of ultraviolet radiation in the United
Kingdom on 8 February 1994. UV levels are so low during this period of the
year that NRPB sees no need for more frequent bulletins. My Department
issues weekly bulletins on the levels of ozone over the United Kingdom and
copies are placed in the Library of the House. Guidance to the public on
avoiding excessive exposure to solar UV radiation is available from the
Health Education Authority and the NRPB.

Women's Aid Refuges

Mr. Steinberg : To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if
he will list the women's aid refuges funded directly or indirectly by his
Department that have been closed in each region since 1990.

Sir George Young : My Department funds some women's aid refuges
indirectly through the Housing Corporation. I am not aware of any refuges
supported in this way which have closed since 1990.

Column 966

Incinerators

Mr. Win Griffiths : To ask the Secretary of State for the
Environment (1) what are the sulphur dioxide emission limits for power
stations and incinerators of different types : and what is the frequency of
monitoring undertaken of emissions of sulphur dioxide from them ;

(2) if he will list the different types of incinerator according to the
severity of their regulatory regimes and the criteria used for
distinguishing each category.

Mr. Atkins : My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has issued
statutory guidance, PG notes, to local authorities on the emission limits
and monitoring frequency they should specify in individual authorisations
for processes subject to air pollution control under part I of the
Environmental Protection Act 1990. The chief inspector of Her Majesty's
inspectorate of pollution has issued guidance, IPR notes, to his inspectors
covering emission limits and monitoring frequency for processes subject to
integrated pollution control under the 1990 Act. The following guidance
notes relate to power stations and incinerators and are all in the Library
of the House : PG1/3(91) boilers and furnaces 20-50MW net rated thermal
input PG1/4(91) gas turbines 20-50MW net rated thermal input

PG5/1(92) clinical waste incineration processes under 1 tonne an hour

PG5/3(91) animal carcase incineration processes under 1 tonne an house

PG5/4(91) general waste incineration processes under 1 tonne an house

PG5/5(91) sewage sludge incineration processes under 1 tonne an house

IPR1/1 combustion processes with an aggregate net rated thermal input of
50MW or more

IPR1/2 gas turbines with an aggregate net rated thermal input of 50MW or
more

IPR1/2 is under review and I am placing a copy of the latest consultation
draft of proposed revisions in the Library. The Secretary of State has
directed the chief inspector of HMIP to include in authorisations for new
large combustion plant conditions which give effect to the emission limits
contained in Council directive 88/609/EEC on the limitation of emissions of
certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants.

Almost all incinerators are controlled under part I of the Environmental
Protection Act. The Environmental Protection (Prescribed Processes and
Substances) Regulations 1991, SI472, as amended, lay down the criteria for
determining whether an incinerator falls to integrated pollution control or
air pollution control. A waste disposal licence under part I of the Control
of Pollution Act 1974 is required for some aspects of an incineration
process falling under air pollution control, as provided by the Disposal of
Controlled Waste (Exceptions) Regulations 1991, SI 508, and for
incinerators exempt from air pollution control. For incinerators not
subject to integrated pollution control, any discharges to controlled
waters require the consent of the National Rivers Authority under the Water
Resources Act 1991.